Introduction
Hey Codeforces community,
I’m currently rated 1150~1200 and I dedicate 6–7 hours daily to competitive programming. I solve problems rating-wise, aiming for ≥50 problems per rating tier, and I participate in virtual contests regularly.
I have 1.5 years before graduation, and I don’t want to waste a single day. I want to reach Expert (~1700–1800) efficiently, and I want to know how far behind I am compared to others who already did it.
I’d love to hear from those who have grinded to Expert, Candidate Master, or higher:
My Current Stats Parameter Value Current Rating 1150~1200 Daily Practice 6–7 hours Problems per Rating Tier ~50 Questions for the Community
When you were grinding from ~1200–1300 to Expert/CM, how many hours per day did you code?
Approximately, how many problems per rating tier did you solve?
Did you focus mostly on rating-wise, topic-wise, or contests?
How long did it take you to go from ~1200–1300 → Expert (~1700–1800)?
What advice would you give someone with 1 years to push hard to reach Expert?
Are there any shortcuts or high-leverage strategies you used to accelerate your grind?
I usually aim for 5-6 effective problems/day, focusing on medium → hard problems, and carefully analyzing mistakes.
I want to quantify the gap between myself and those who have already reached Expert. I want to know how many hours, how many problems, and what strategies are realistic so I can plan the next 1-1.5 years perfectly.
virtual contests , Gyms ,timed solve>> are very useful for speed and make u in the mood of contests Topics >> i dont know when and what , but in codeforces u dont need advanced topics to reach CM (as i think)
(pwned) search for this one , he have a very good blog about training
i think hence u have good time u may merge btw pwned way to solve , solving problems by difficulty
and the most important is to detect your problems and work on it that's much better than general way
I'll definitely look into that, thanks man!
1-1.5 years to hit expert is definitely achievable, however I think 6 hours a day is quite a lot.
In my opinion, its hard to quantify amount of practice with respect to skill gain, 50 problems per rating tier feels a little too much. If you still find yourself stuck after 50 problems at this rating, you should probably think of what you could have done to improve the problem-solving process (i.e. how to get idea faster, how to finish implmentation faster, etc) and when you feel like you are decently comfortable with solving problem at this rating, you should move on to the next rating bracket. But really, I think any reasonable strategy will work out similarly.